Golden beet dressing (no oil)

I wanted to make a variation on beets tonight, not using it as a main ingredient. Instead, beet would be the part of the sauce, the dressing to accompany the salad. So I made this sauce with golden beets, or yellow beets. This required a quick run to the local store to purchase them. We had everything else at home. It felt like the first version to try before doing another one with red roots and a slightly different recipe.

Since the theme is yellow, in terms of color, it felt important to match other ingredients selecting by compatible flavor as well as compatible color. So this recipe uses orange juice, lemon juice, French mustard, garlic, white wine vinegar, and a little bit of salt.

Some dressing are very liquid, as much as water or oil, since they are made of these primarily. This golden beet dressing can easily be poured into a container and sprinkled or dripped on top of salads, pastas and so on. But it is by nature thicker than traditional dressings.

You can make it more liquid by diminishing the amount of beets. Or you can add more orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar and so on. But I think a thick dressing is fine. It reminds of blue cheese dressing in terms of thickness, but obviously with a way different flavor and nutritional profile. Note that I did not use oil in this recipe, as I am cooking oil-free for some period of time while experimenting with a lower fat lifestyle.

In addition to salads and pastas, this golden beet dressing pairs with rice, quinoa, barley, as well as raw and cooked vegetables. If you remember your science classes and matrices, dressings extend a very long way on their axis. They pair with so many foods. OK, too much thinking.